Serena Williams returned to the top of the world with a routine win at the China Open on Tuesday but Andy Roddick and Jelena Jankovic plumbed the depths when their title defences ended in their opening matches.
Dinara Safina was forced to once again defend her number one ranking after squeezing by unheralded Kristina Barrois at the US Open on Thursday, her second successive struggle against an unseeded opponent.
An annoyed Dinara Safina has had enough of people questioning whether she can justify being the world number one, despite not having won a grand slam title.
World number one Dinara Safina sailed through to the Slovenia Open quarter-finals when she beat fellow Russian Ksenija Pervak 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday.
A back injury has forced Russia's Dinara Safina to pull out of next month's Brisbane International, one of the main lead up events to the Australian Open.
Elena Dementieva overpowered Serena Williams 6-3, 6-1 at the Sydney International on Thursday to set up an all-Russian final against Dinara Safina.
Svetlana Kuznetsova won her second grand slam title when she outplayed fellow Russian and world number one Dinara Safina 6-4 6-2 in the French Open final on Saturday.
Ruthless Serena Williams underlined her dominance at the top of women's tennis on Sunday, completing her year in style with a 6-2, 7-6 defeat of big sister Venus in the final of the WTA Championships.
World number one Dinara Safina continued to bulldoze her way through the French Open draw when she flattened France's Aravane Rezai 6-1 6-0 to reach the quarter-finals on Sunday.
Serena Williams rarely backs down in a scrap but she was spared a fight for the honour of ending the year as world number one on Wednesday when her rival Dinara Safina quit the WTA Championships with injury.
Serena Williams stayed on course to end the year as world number one when she beat Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6, 7-5 on the opening day of the WTA Championships after sister Venus suffered a shock defeat on Tuesday.
The equation could not be simpler: whoever performs best out of Russian Dinara Safina and American Serena Williams at next week's WTA Championships in Doha will end the year as world No 1.
Russian Dinara Safina reclaimed first place in the WTA world rankings on Monday, edging back in front of Serena Williams on the eve of the season-ending Tour Championships in Doha.
Andy Murray relied on brains and Dinara Safina banked on brawn to reach the third round of the French Open on Wednesday. But two decades of experience could not prevent sentimental French favourite Fabrice Santoro taking his final singles bow at Roland Garros.
A brief look at the strengths and weaknesses of the leading contenders for the women's title at the French Open which begins on Sunday.
Top seed Rafa Nadal battled through a tricky second round tie against American James Blake on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the $6.6 million China Open. The world number two, playing his first tournament since picking up an injury at the US Open, was far from his rampaging best but again proved his fitness by winning 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 in a 143-minute contest.
World number one Dinara Safina was upset 7-5, 7-6 by local wild card Zhang Shuai in the second round of the $6.6 million China Open on Monday, leaving Serena Williams one victory away from reclaiming top spot in the rankings. Serena's sister Venus, the world number three, also had a bad day, losing to Russian teenager Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for the second week in a row, this time 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Dinara Safina made a scrappy start to her Beijing duel with Serena Williams for the world number one spot by beating Italian Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the $6.6 million China Open on Sunday.
Dinara Safina made a scrappy start to her Beijing duel with Serena Williams for the world number one spot by beating Italian Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the $6.6 million China Open on Sunday.
Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova stunned world number one Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 to win the Stuttgart Grand Prix on Sunday. Kuznetsova, the world number nine, was more consistent than fellow Russian Safina, holding her serve throughout to clinch her first tournament of the year after an hour and 19 minutes.
World number one Dinara Safina staged a comeback to beat Italian Flavia Pennetta 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 on Saturday and reach the Stuttgart Grand Prix final where she will face fellow-Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. Fifth seed Kuznetsova crushed compatriot and number two seed Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 in just 67 minutes.
World number nine Svetlana Kuznetsova marched into the Stuttgart Grand Prix final on Saturday, crushing fellow Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 in just 67 minutes.
World number one Dinara Safina cut a dejected figure after suffering a 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 shock defeat by Taiwanese qualifier Chang Kai-chen in her opening match at the Pan Pacific Open on Monday.
While the computer tells Russia's Dinara Safina she is the leading player in women's tennis, the crushing pressure to win a grand slam title is sucking all the fun out of being world number one.
Russia's Dinara Safina will replace Serena Williams as world number one in the WTA's next official rankings, the organisation said on Wednesday.
Marat Safin threw a protective arm around his little sister Dinara on Wednesday after the Russian world number one was slammed for her wobbly performance in the first round of the US Open.
Serb Jelena Jankovic has rediscovered her form in time for the U.S. Open, while compatriot and fellow former world number one Ana Ivanovic is still looking to turn her season round.
Five-times defending champion Roger Federer and Russian Dinara Safina will be the top seeds at the U.S. Open when it begins next Monday, the U.S. Tennis Association said on Tuesday.
World number one and holder Dinara Safina made an early exit from the Toronto Cup on Wednesday, shocked 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 by 39th ranked Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai.
A rejuvenated Jelena Jankovic upset world number one Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-2 to win the Cincinnati Open on Sunday. The fifth-seeded Serb took advantage of an error-strewn display from the Russian to clinch her second title of the year.
World number one Dinara Safina will take on a rejuvenated Jelena Jankovic in the final of the Cincinnati Open after hugely contrasting wins on Saturday. Russian Safina stormed into her eighth final of the year with a 6-2, 6-0 demolition of Italian Flavia Pennetta, while fifth seed Jankovic saved four match points to beat fourth seed Elena Dementieva 7-6, 0-6, 7-6 after two hours and 46 minutes.
It took about two years for Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin to come out of retirement. Kimiko Date Krumm waited 12 years before letting the fire inside her burn again and Dinara Safina felt the full heat in Paris.
A pumped up Maria Sharapova overcame Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the third round of the LA Championships on Wednesday.
Second seed Dinara Safina slumped out of the Dubai Tennis Championships in the second round on Tuesday after losing 6-4 6-2 to Virginie Razzano of France.
Serena Williams continued her love affair with Melbourne by easing to an emphatic 6-3, 6-4 victory over an in-form Elena Dementieva to advance to a fourth Australian Open final in Melbourne on Thursday. The 27-year-old Williams will meet another Russian in the title match, taking on third seed Dinara Safina, who overpowered compatriot Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 7-6.
Second seed Serena Williams admitted closing the roof on Rod Laver Arena because of the soaring temperatures helped her battle back from a first set deficit to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday. The American's victory prevented a Russian sweep of the Australian Open semi-finals and she will now play Elena Dementieva in the last four on Thursday.
Venus Williams will play her sister Serena in Saturday's Wimbledon final after a crushing 6-1, 6-0 victory over top seed Dinara Safina of Russia in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Dinara Safina finally got to show why she is top seed on Wimbledon's showpiece court, taming former champion Amelie Mauresmo on Monday to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
Top seed Dinara Safina struggled against a knee injury to edge into the second round at Wimbledon on Tuesday as she chases her dream of winning a grand slam.
Elena Dementieva beat fellow Russian Dinara Safina 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in the final of the Sydney International on Friday to complete a perfect buildup to next week's Australian Open.
